‘A High Court judge yesterday sought to “reinforce the message that the Commercial Court will firmly discourage the taking of futile and time-wasting procedural points” as it appeared the message from last month’s Summit Navigation ruling “may not yet have been heard”.’

‘Mr Bentham was no great admirer of the judiciary. He once said “the same fungus, which when green, is made into Bar, is it not, when dry, made into Bench?” He distrusted the judges. When drafting a “New Plan for the organisation of the Judicial Establishment in France” in the 1820s, he was adamant that judges should not be permitted to legislate: “Appointed for the express purpose of enforcing obedience to the laws, their duty is to be foremost in obedience. Any attempt on the part of the judge to frustrate or unnecessarily to retard the efficacy of what he understands to have been the decided meaning of the legislature, shall be punished with forfeiture of his office.” ‘

‘Access to justice and the quality of our justice system are currently under threat on several fronts. As we face a number of challenges, I never fail to be impressed by the sense of unity across the profession, who are determined speak out for what we believe in. I for one have no intention to deviate from that course.’

‘It was neither sex discrimination nor discrimination related to pregnancy or maternity leave to dismiss an employee for excessive absences due to post-natal depression that took place after her maternity leave had ended, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found.’

‘The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, delivered a speech last week in which he radically called for a judge-led inquisitorial system to be considered for family and civil courts. He commented that, within the family law arena, the current adversarial method of dealing with cases was ill-suited to both the types of cases seen there and the significant numbers of litigants in person who now make up large numbers of the users of that system.’

‘The Law Commission began in 2009 to examine the status and enforceability of marital property agreements, which we refer to as pre-nups. Pre-nups do not currently have statutory backing, but this may be about to change. In their report published on 27 February 2014, the Law Commission recommended the introduction of legally binding “qualifying nuptial agreements”. The report, Matrimonial Property Needs and Agreements, includes a draft bill which would bring pre-nups into law.’

‘A member state was entitled, pursuant to Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC, to refuse to grant a right of residence to a third country national who was a family member of a Union citizen where that citizen was a national of and resided in that member state but regularly travelled to another member state in the course of his professional activities. However, article 45FEU of the FEU Treaty conferred on a third country national who was the family member of a Union citizen a derived right of residence in the member state of which that citizen was a national, where the citizen resided in that member state but regularly travelled to another member state as a worker within the meaning of that provision, if the refusal to grant such a right of residence discouraged the worker from effectively exercising his rights under article 45FEU, which was for the referring court to determine.’

‘Article 21(1)FEU of the FEU Treaty meant that where a Union citizen had created or strengthened a family life with a third country national during genuine residence, pursuant to and in conformity with the conditions set out in articles 7(1) and (2) and article 16(1) and (2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC in a member state other than that of which he was a national, the provisions of the Directive applied by analogy where that Union citizen returned, with the family member in question, to his member state of origin.’

‘Elizabeth Warren -v- Care Fertility (Northampton) Limited and Other [2014] EWHC 602 (Fam). The High Court has ruled in favour of a 28-year-old woman who wanted her late husband’s sperm to be retained even though the correct written consent was not in place. Mrs Justice Hogg (“Hogg J”) ruled that Mrs Warren has a right under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to respect for private and family life) to decide to become a parent by her deceased husband.’

‘The Bank of England has called in one of the most respected figures in the legal world, Anthony Grabiner QC, to investigate allegations that some of its staff may have been involved in manipulating the £3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange markets for almost 10 years.’

‘An ancient law which can force homeowners to pay for their local church’s repairs is blighting properties and depressing house sales, say campaigners. But what is chancel repair liability and what is the best way to deal with it?.’

‘Tens of thousands of the most vulnerable patients are effectively being kept prisoner in care homes and hospitals through misuse of mental health laws, a damning House of Lords investigation has found.’